Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1887-02-19
BOOKS AND READING.

| 1t is common 70 thlnA and speak OF such,
especially when cofnnared with those who
have studied Latin and Greek, as scarcely
educated at all. And there is difference;
the study OF the classics is valuable as a
| mental discirline il gives one clearer I'M
Outstanding of the meaning of many words;
and to be able to read the orations of Cicero
| or the dialogues of Plato in their own Ian
guaGe Is q very great pleasure. But all
these have been translated, and hence are
within the easy reach of the English reader,
and SO are the most valuable books OF Ger
many and France; and thus the one who
can read well the English language has be-
fore him the literature of the world.
Try to imagine what it would be not to
be able to read at all. Such an one would
be shut up entirely to the world of speech,
to what ne could hear others say or read.
He would have to depend upon others for
all the news of the world beyond hts inn
mediate neighborhood. When alone he
would be shut up to his own thoughts.
But he who can read has the world spread
out before him each morning and evening
in the daily papers; he can sit down alone
and have the words and thoughts of the
great thinkers and poets and orators; he
can read the history of every country and
every age, end the lives of the great men
and women who have helped pake history
and literature.
1t is very important, not only that one
SHOULD know how to read, but that the
tastes and the habits Of reading should be
formed early in life. Herein is one value of
such papers as THE LEDGER, and of many
story books. They create desire, lead
the mind along into the habit of reading;
and; this once formed, the same mind, while
continuing to find pastime and en- amuse-
30
the heavier and the stronger, to love his
tory, and biography, and science, and
philosophy.
But here the question arises: What
shall one read. and how shall he read to
the best advantage? And it should be set
tied in the outset that it is not possible to
read everything; nor would it be profitable,
for there ate very many books upon almost
every subject.
The first thing to do, then, is to classify
subjects, and this will greatly simplify
She problem of reading, for the subjects
upon which books have been written are
few, compared to the number of the books.
There are hundreds OF arthmetics ard
English grammars, hut there is but one
science of numbers, and the principles Of
the language are the same. The methods
of presenting the subjects may differ. but
the principles of addition, or multiplied
ton, or those that govern the relations Of
one part Of speech to another; are, and
must be, the same. And hence one good
grammar or arithmetic is all one need study.
And SO of history, and biography, and
science. There are many books upon each,
but good history of England, or correct
life of Cromwell or Napoleon, should be
sufficient for general purposes, and one
goo book on geology OF chemistry is
enough. And in this way it is possible to
classify books, by classifying subjects, and
at the same time reduce their discouraging
numbers, SO that one need not feel that, in
order to be we'll read, he must read every
thing. or even one in ten, or one in a hun
bred often, of the many books published.
Suppose that one should enter room
where thousands of books were scattered
in confusion, and read successfully what
ever CHANGED to come before him; the result
would be that no plan or method would be
possible; the first volume might be a ncvel,
and the next work on chemistry or astron-
omy. But suppose, now, that he begin to
classify, and upon one shelf he will ar
range all the books of history, and upon
another those of science, and upon another
works of biography, and upon others he
would place the philosophers, and the
poets, and the artists; and he would class
fly the works of law, and medicine, and
theology. And now he would go further,
we will say, and divide history into an
cient and modern, and sacred and profane,
and place together all the works of each
author upon any one of these divisions;
and in this way arrange the poets, and the
philosophers, and the scientists, and the
novelists. The result would be clear out
line in the mind OF subjects and authors,
and this in itself is quite an education.
But we have said that it is not necessary
to read all the books in the world; and,
now, how shall one discriminate? OF
dozen authors upon the same subject,
which shall be chosen! First, he should
look to fact and thought value. These, in
books of information and reason, are essen
tal qualities. Without them no book,
whatever be its binding or its beauty Of
language, is worth reading. A history
81 ould be reliable; reason should be clear
and strong. The thought value Of book
has been compared to the intrinsic value
in the material of an FIRING, or any piece
OF jewelry. If the jewel be gold or dia-
mond it has Il certain value Independent of
the work put upon it. But if the material
be an orolde instead of gold, or crystalliZed
silica instead Of diamond, no amount of
enumeration in the carving and setting
can redeem the jewel from worthlessness.
And SO of book that purports to be
book of facts or OF raaSonlngS; II 1T be
poor in these, no rhetorical enumeration
can give it value.
But a ring or necklace of gold or
pearls may have the additional value Of
being delicately and beautifully wrought;
and SO a book rich in facts and thought
may be clothed III the most beautiful Ian
guage. And thus the expressionai value
should determine in the choice between
authors of equal merit as to facts and rea-
soning; for there is refinement as we'll as
pleasure in reading the works of one whose
language is beautiful or strong as the
thought may require; or, in other wc-ds,
when the ideas are properly clothed.
The impulsiye value of book should
also be noted, especially in works of lit
erature. As a rule, book that leaves a bad
impression-leaves one weak, OF discour-
aged, or full of doubt, or that tends TO lead
the mind away from its noblest convictions
of right-should not be read. A really
good book should be power upon ones
life, an inspiration to send one forth TO he
and to do good in the world.
There are only four really great or world
poets-Homer, Dante, Goethe, and Shaks-
pc re. Others, as Tennyson, or Burns, or
Milton, have great merits and local reputa-
tions, but they fall below the universal.
And SO there are great historians, as Glib
bon, and Rollin, and Josephus; and there
are great writers of fiction, such as Bulwer,
and Dickens, and Sir Walter Scott, and
Victor Hugo 1t is not possible to read all
history, nor all nctlon, nor all poetry, nor
Would it be prohtablp What almost every